Humphreys Pest Control

When they first inspected my 60 year old house, I thought the termite inspection was thorough and professional, but I know little about termites and nothing about the termite and pest control business. Year after year, I’d pay the renewal fee to keep the guarantee coverage — a guarantee their website says is «the best in the industry» yet the guarantee is not on their website. So I started to ask questions like «Don’t you want to inspect my home if you’re guaranteeing reparations caused by termites?» and «how do you pay for reparations — do you have insurance or some cash reserves?» These questions were never answered. so finally when the 2015 renewal became due, I asked for an inspection, with the idea being to get a termite-​free bill of health for my house, and I’d simply pay the technician when he came out, not minding the fact that the guarantee is probably not one that Humphreys can actually make good on if there was serious termite damage to the home. I phoned to set the appointment up and the operator said they’d call me back to schedule date and time, the call never came. Now, three weeks after my «coverage expiration date», I called again and they replied have no record of the call and that my coverage has ended and I’d have to set up a new coverage contract. Humphreys never tried to call back to retain my business. I will start new coverage with another pest control company.
This looks like a recurring invoicing scheme, they send out bills claiming coverage while doing nothing and collecting money — and Humphreys cannot explain how any «coverage» is really guaranteed. It’s a shame, this was once a very reputable company that like other reviewers mentioned «seemed to have lost its way». Or best is J E’s review, it explains exactly what I’m writing about here.

I went to Humphreys because I had those burrowing bees in my side yard. Originally, I was going to have them come out and do the extermination in person, but the guy on the phone was kind enough to save me $ 75 by telling me I could just come by and get the powder to kill the bees and do it myself if I wanted to. They don’t sting unless they’re yellow jackets (they weren’t), he told me. So that’s pretty awesome!
When I went to the physical location, it was like stepping into a bygone era, complete with wood paneling and solid steelcase desks. Personally, I like that sort of thing. I also like the nests they had hanging all over the place and the jars of examples of household pests. It was gross, but cool. Like a tiny, creepy natural history museum. Take your kids if they’re old enough and into that kind of thing.
I don’t know about their actual extermination services, but if you just need to pick up some stuff to DIY, Humphreys is way more interesting than a place like Home Depot and I paid the same price for the powder in the store as I would have online. But I also got the benefit of talking to someone who was into extermination and made sure I was getting the right product for the task at hand. And of course supporting a local business that’s been in the community for a long, long time feels better than paying a big box behemoth.

Not impressed. I realize this place has been around forever, but I think they’ve lost their way. Too many trucks & technicians with not enough owner involvement. Sorry, I had to switch.

Shout out to the nicest exterminator, Bill. He actually listens to your concerns and is helpful. Still working on my pest problem, but doing it with a smile.

I’ve had mixed experiences with Humphrey’s. I’ve hired them for both termites and carpenter ants. As far as the actual pest control goes, I have no complaints. Their business operations, though, seem to need improvement. When I bought my house, I took over an existing termite control contract on the house. I paid the bill for the first two years, but the second year they ‘lost’ the payment — they cashed my check but didn’t credit my account (this was eventually resolved). After that, I never heard from them again. I would have kept renewing my termite contract, but they never contacted me and I just forgot about it, so I suppose my house will collapse some day…